1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to an electronic chaperone and, in particular, to a method, system and program for electronically monitoring and managing user access to content via a portable data storage medium. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method, system and program for utilizing a single portable data processing system to manage user access across multiple diverse content access platforms according to access restrictions designated by an authority to the user of the portable data storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the tide is turning towards a paperless world, computers are becoming more prevalent in order to replace many functions previously performed utilizing paper. In particular, computing devices, such as a personal digital assistant, laptop computer and cellular/digital telephone are becoming more commonplace as a personal, portable computer system. Such devices are typically designed to provide reliable and efficient transmittal and storage of data. For example, many digital telephones not only include capabilities to transmit and receive voice data, but to transmit and receive electronic data such as stock quotes, current weather and news. A small display device is typically provided to display the electronic data.
Global positioning systems (GPSs) add to the applications of personal, portable computer systems. In the consumer world, as personal computer systems include GPSs and communicate to a network, personal computer systems may receive regionalized advertising and sale updates. For example, a shopper's eye system, incorporating a personal digital assistant (PDA) equipped with a GPS and wireless Internet Protocol (IP), enables a two-way channel with a central control center through which retailers can present customized offers to nearby shoppers based on their particular interests. In particular, the location of a user, shopping goals, preferences and related history may be detected by a central control center for a mall the user has entered. This information is routed to stores in the mall and as the stores receive this information, they may create a customized offer of bundled goods and services. The offer is transmitted from the central control center to the user's PDA.
Accountability of users for entering a particular store or office, seeing particular images, visiting particular web sites, eating particular foods, etc. has been a long time struggle for parents who cannot attend to their children all the time and companies who cannot personally monitor employees all the time. In particular, accountability for content viewed on a computer or television has led to software applications that allow a parent or employer to lock out certain types of web sites and television stations and/or monitor use. However, while these software applications, associated with the computer or television, monitor and limit access on that computer or television, they do not monitor and limit access on all computers or televisions that a particular user may have access to. In addition, there are typically areas other than content of web sites and television programs that a parent or company would like to monitor.
In view of the foregoing, it would be preferable to provide a portable computer system as an electronic chaperone that includes multiple types of authority-designated settings for multiple diverse events that are transmittable to multiple diverse access platforms in order to universally enforce an authority-designated access policy. In addition, it would be preferable to allow a user to designate multiple diverse preferences. It would be advantageous to transmit the authority-designated settings to multiple diverse locations and/or devices, such as retailers, in order that the retailer can determine and transmit to the electronic chaperone a suitable selection of products and services provided by the retailer or media provider according to the authority-designated preferences. In addition, it would be preferable to transmit the authority-designated settings to a device, such as a television, in order that the authority-designated settings are automatically transferred to the television's parental control application settings, for example.